Apparatus for handling corrugated paperboard



Oct. 27, 1953 c. w. APGAR 2,657,044

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING CORRUGATED PAPERBOARD Filed Aug. 51, 1950 2 sheets-Sheet 21 INVENTOR. CHHRLES w- APGAR A-Pfor ne):

Patented Oct. 27, 1953 APPARAII'US:FOR JIIANDIzING CORRUGATED TABERBOARD a corporaion of'PennSylania f Original lapplcaion -March 18,` l'1949, Serial vNo.

.82,188. Dividodand this appligtign August -3:C`lairns.

This invenfieh rela-ne .generally .inapnnrhine Qf iheiyneennpied te Pnzduee eelmeated paper lhenni inehdleee Strip fennnnn mere s reeifieelly to such apparatns lind `coinbination with means adaited to form container-forming lanks of en'd' heard .n tfelded Strip fnrm, .this epnlientien hng' fabdiyi'sio'n of `Patent No. 2604,9 8l

Hefeiffine ,and Mier te the Present ihrehtinn. ithee he'en the chmmoh andeqnvenhenel pren- 'fice' in the .Inefnnfaetnre Of efnrngntedA board fer fee ne eehniner' Planse .te .produce individnehy "ein nd eeqnefhlnnke ef .theexeet size and shape 'eqn'i'rfecl to folrn 'particular vcarton or container, the indvdlial -lanls eing then shipped tothe hefler 'inbe sei :hp by .the letter into narten ferm ele reinifef nemeei hie paehaeine requirements n 'innhy lhetahcee the products fie he Paeknsed bffian individlial nser of the 'corjrngatel paper board oontainers vary in -size and ,thns require herfeenhdinel? diherent einen eentainere, a re'sifltfof which gthe user of thecontainer is Vreqlrel tefn'ninfnih en ,hand a eeneiderable Steel; of'dir-ent sizes of container hlanks `certain of .which 'may 4he Only .ihfrennently need- 'linie Dihleni"`f ecfiehemienhy .mnintaining .en hand en ndenuefie Sioeh .ef :container hlanl-:Le iewnarfilef nlen'yfaenfie in ,the .enee Of Venetian blind fhe'turefe ,fer example, Who mnnnfnehne blinn of viewing Wihhe land .se find itV neeeseahy te use ehipnine eentniners ef .eerreennnhngly v1. n ing 'lene'ihe It sometimes eeenre thai .the hhnd menuffaref linie .iieelf ,Wiihent aennnlyien of theurequishite length lshippirg container fiifl prevent eneh Qfeurhenee the blind m .1.1.- fneiufef-Iieelily .rfnhiniainenn .hand e .supply ef allsilzs of nicx'n'itainers, many o f Which ZQaVI ee infreqneniy need in..re1atie,n,.te ehere ee to Pe eeenerninlly Wnetefhl hein Imn the `ennni: point of money ini'fested in inVGIMIIQIy and space consumed in rthe storage of excess lcontainer `bla'nls.` i

The present inyention has as its principal cject the manufactnre of -corrugateg paper oarl in continuous stripiorrn Hfor izse the prolnction of tnbhlnreenninere .enn the annneine thereof in fen-felded bhhllee ,fer Shiprnenifie ancl storage by the user of the container, the affnngemenh ef .the henfn ne Supplies! tntheteentainer user being such as to enable 'the latter tp make up containers of'ifierent length to most economicallymeethis special paqkaging regi'iircments and' to lispense with the ne'cesty of meihthining .Oh hand e steel; Of different einen blnnke fer eerrnaaien Paner beam containere.-

h ie .an Ohest iar the' Present invenheh te an.)-y

vide a vcontainer-iorrrring blank in strip form of corrngated paper board comprising -continuors selctionsof said board fan-folderL along transverse Alines-to form avpile of board sections, the lengths ofthe contaners adapted to bemade from said blani eing ,independentei the lengths of said sections- It ,s a still :further objectof the present ,inventon to raise the wdischarged transverely scored endless board Strip to such `an ,elevation above a base level as to permit lthe board strp to descend and to be Ian-folded in a pileof sec- ,tion upon said level.

An additional object is to provide means for successively and continuously forming partial folcls between adiacent 'board ,sections to facilitatethe an-folding operation.

Other Objects and aclvantages of vthe present invention will appear more fully hereinafter, it ?oeng underlstoodthat the present invention consists substantially in the combinaton, construction, location and relative arrangement of parts and in l`the method of procedure, all as del'criedhin the following lspecification, las shown ,in the aocornpanying drawings and as finally pointeqlout in the appended claims, Inthe accemnnnyingidrewinge- Egnrze 1 is a perspective view showing `the dischaige enl of a continuons corrngated board icnnihg Inaehine `in. association With *en Vupyyardly extending inclinel chute vupon which the .hpard is moved to a position nfer fan .f01ding;

Fianre 2 ie. e ,fragmentany view in section ISP-.Qwlg the formation of transverse score or fald lines the ,board .by .the Seerne rellere -Of .the board .fnrnnng machine;

ignres 4 and ,5 are ld iagramrnatic views .showing .various stages in JGhe fznn-.folding cf the marii;

.Fisnre ,6 `ie. .el-plen .view Uof a ,length of the eentinnons oari showing the transverse told lines hnalnhgiindinal seefe lines: and

figure 7 ie a perspective view showing a. conflhhe? made from a length ef board obtained f trenul-the fan-temeri pile thereef.

Beretofor in the art of forming relatively lene, nnrrusaterl :Qardbeard containere of the type used to hex relatveIy long narrnw prodnieeneh ne .rnllerl np .or .eempaeted Venetian blind-'ser the like, it has been euewmary te pro.-

Ine c ntainer-,frornipg blanks of varying lengths .depending .upon the lengths of the products to be boxed. Accordingly, it was necessary for the 9.01%iii-Mili-YfOliIJflLIn-` blank manufacturer to make 2 hPa-nantitiesnf hlanks of the mdivmun iengms required and'it Was necessary for the user of these blanlzs to store quantities of the different length blanks in anticipation of the use thereof for different lengths of products to be boxed. Inasmuch as it was not always possible for the product manufacturer to anticipate his requirements in the matter of particular lengths of container forming blanks to coincide with the actual demand of particular lengths of products, it frequently happened that despite storage of large quantities of different length blanks one size would be used to the ex'clusion of other sizes. It would then be necessary to re-order or to cut down larger size blanks to a Smaller size for immediate use resulting in undesirable Waste of material. Furthermore space would be needed to store the unused blanlrs.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by creating container forming blanks in such form as to avoid Waste, as Well as to avoid the necessity of storing a large number of different size blanks. The container-forining b-lanks of the present invention are cut to correct length as needed from a single' source of supply made up in the form of fan-V* folded -continuous sections of corrugated board. Accordingly, there is little or no Waste of material in the box making and there is a tremendous saving in storage space with its attendant economy in reduced inventory.V

The formation of the fan-folded box blanks Will be understood by reference to the dravvings, wherein Figure l shows the discharge end IO of a conventional machine ii adapted to manufacture the relatively stiff corrugated paper board Vsufliciently close registry during each rotation of .f the rollers, Figure 2, With the board H2 therebe- Y tween to score the same inwardly from its opposite outer surfaces to form fold lines l 5 at spaced intervale along the endless Strip of the board IZ.

It Will be noted that board E2 is provided with 1.;

longitudinally extending score lines I fi on each side of a central longitudinally extending cut or separating line l'l, these lines having been formed in the board by the machine ll at operational stage preceding that of the scoring rollers l3-I3. The cut line i? is provided so that lengths of the board 12 may be readily separated into identical halves with each half providing a boxiforming blank. It will be obvious that the separating line ll may be placed off-center or entirely eliminated depending upon the width of the board |2 and upon the size of the boXes desired to be made from the `blanls. Likewise, the particular number and spacing of the transverse score lines 16 may be changed depending upon the shape and the number of sides desired in the finished box. For eX- ample, with the present number of four equally spaced score lines i, a rectangular box, as shown in Figure 7, may be conveniently made. However, by providinga greater or lesser number of score lines either equally or unequally spaced other shaped multi-sided boxes Vmay readily be formed.

for fan-folding above the surface upon which the folded board is adapted to be received. In the present embodiment of the invention, a relatively long upwardly extending suificiently wide smooth-surfaced inclined member I8 of any suitable vmaterial is provided in extension of a delivery table or conveyor 19 suitably supported on the framing of the machine l l immediately in advance of the scoring rollers l3--l3 at a level to properly receive the horizontally discharged moving board |2. In extension of the upper end 29 of the member i8 there is provided a relatively short-smooth-surfaced downwardly extending member 2| having a terminal end 22 disposed above a movable pallet 23 upon which the folded board is to be stacked. Suitable supporting uprights 24 and 25 adequately braced are Vprovided to maintain table i9 and members 18 and 21 in their described positions. V

In the operation of the apparatus above described, in which the machine H has been ini- Y tially set to provide the desired longitudinal score and separating lines IS and ll and the rotary speed of the rollers 43-13 has been adjusted relative to the linear speed of the board l2 therethroughV to provide transverse fold lines uniformly spaced apart the requisite distance, the

board [2 is discharged in endless length to move forwardly over the table iS, then over the inclined member E3 to the end thereof andV thence downwardly over the inclineol member 2| to the free end 22 thereof from whence it descends to a position where one or more operators guide and fold the board alternately in opposite directions along the lines [5 preparatory to stacking the same onV the receiving pallet 23. Referring to Figures l, 3, li and 5, it will be noted that due to its inherent stilfness, the board E2 as it is fed along the inclined member la, continues on in substantially its own plane (Figure 4) to present successive fold lines |5 at the high point or corner 2%, whereupon the board is successively partially folded along its fold lines [5 over the said corner 2G so that further movement of the board is in a downward direction over the reversely inolined member ZI, whereV the board l2 is again subjected to successive folding along lines 15 over the terminal edge22 of the inclinedimember ZI. It will be noted also that these folds are all initially in the same direction and since alternate folds should be in opposite directions for stocking, it is necessary for the operator to manually reverse the direction of Vcertain of the folds. However, the preliminary creasing of the board on lines |5 over the edges 2G and 22 facilitates such reverse folding by the operator. 7

At the-beginning of the operation (Figures 1 and 3),*initial sectionA of board I 2 is deposited on pallet 23 after the operator has folded section B, relativeto section A, in a direction opposite to theV fold imparted previously betweenV these sections by the edges 29 and 22 of the over-head board delivery structure. As seen in Figure i as the board advances, section C has moved from its position in Figure 3V in order to fold over section B along the direction of the fold previously imparted to these sections. In order that section Dlmay move from its position in Figure 3 to be folded over section C, the direction of theestablished fold between sections C and D (Figure 3) Vis reversed by the operator from that shown in 7 Figure 4. As the board continues to befolded As the board strip 12 is discharged by the ma- V insections, it is stacked upon pallet 23 until a Vpile of suflicient vheight* is t obtained, as shown in Figure 5, whereupon the stacked pile with its 'pallet may be removed to permit the formation of succeeding stacks on other pallets. It is customary to cut the board upon the removal of each stack of folded sections, the latter then being in convenient form for whatever further handling is required.

In order to form a container blank of any desired length from the folded board sections regardless of the length of the sections between fold lines i5, it is only necessary to open out the top few folded sections and then to cut off the desired length without regard to the position of the fold lines. If the board is provided with a cutting line Il, the cut length is first separated into two halves to provide two container blanks. In the portion of the board shown in Figure 6 there are two fold lines I and it may be that a cut off length will contain one or more of these. As shown in Figure 7, the relatively long box 26 is formed from a blank cut to requisite length from the unfolded board shown in Figure 6. The box illustrated is formed by folding the blank along the longitudinal score lines IG and securing the opposite side panels in overla-pped relation by any suitable means. remain open or may be closed in any desired manner. It will be noted that once the box 26 has been completed the transverse fold lines 15 have no effect upon the strength and rigidity thereof. In a similar manner boxes of any requisite length may be formed and it is possible to make them of any multi-sided shape, by the -proper disposition of the longitudinal score lines in the fanfolded strip of the container-forming board.

It will be understood, of course, that the present invention is susceptible of various changes and modifications which may be made from time to time without involving any departure from the real spirit or general principles of the invention, and it is accordingly intended to claim the same broadly, as well as specifically, as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. In an apparatus of the type adapted to produce corrugated paper card-board in endless strip form and to discharge the same, in combination therewith means adapted to form spaced board sections defined by transversely extending score lines in said strip, an upwardly extending inclined member having its lower terminal end disposed in operative relation to the dscharge end of said apparatus to receive said board strip, and a downwardly extending inclined member in continuation of the upper terminal end of said first named member, said board strip travelling over said members and being elevated thereby, the lower terminal end of said second named member being at an elevation from which said board The ends of the box may may descend and be continuously fan folded along said score lines to form a stack of said sections, the upper terminal ends of said members and the lower terminal end of said second named member acting to partially fold said sections about said score lines as said sections are drawn downwardly thereover by their own weight.

2. In an apparatus of the type adapted to produce corrugated paper cardboard in endless strip form and to discharge the same, in combination therewith means adapted to form spaced board sections defined by transversely extending score lines in said strip and an elongated member having a pair of fiat surfaces inclined to form a ridge intermediate the ends thereof, one of said ends being disposed proximate the discharge end of said apparatus to receive said board strip for travel thereof over said member, the other of said ends being disposed at an elevation from which said board may descend and be continuously fan folded along said score lines to form a stack of said sections, said ridge and the edge of said other end being parallel to one another and acting to partially fold said sections about said score lines as said sections pass thereover and are urged downwardly by their own weight.

3. In an apparatus of the type adapted to produce corrugated paper cardboard in endless strip form and to discharge the same, in combination therewith means adapted to form spaced board sections defined by transversely extending score lines in said strip and an elongated member having a pair of flat surfaces inclined to form a ridge intermediate the ends thereof, one of said ends being disposed proximate the discharge end of said apparatus to receive said board strip for travel thereof over said member, the other of said ends being disposed at an elevation from which said board may descend and be continuously fan folded along said score lines to form a stack of said sections, said ridge and the edge of said other end being parallel to one another and acting to partially fold said sections about said score lines in the same direction as said sections pass thereover and are urged downwardly by their own weight.

CI-IARLES W. APGAR.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Number Name Date 758,672 Mayall May 3, 1904 944,536 Bonfield et al Dec. 28, 1909 1,183,005 Hageman May 16, 1916 1,823,475 Scudds Sept. 15, 1931 2,185,675 Mitchell et al Jan. 2, 1940 2,349,056 Serai May 16, 1944 

